


Recurrence

by ZedElla (Leviarty)



Series: The Story of Lorne [6]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-07
Updated: 2016-03-07
Packaged: 2018-05-25 09:45:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6189652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leviarty/pseuds/ZedElla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lorne keeps coming home covered in mud.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Recurrence

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place during and around 3x10/11 Return

All in all, his luck wasn’t that bad. Sure, ran into trouble, just like any SG-team, but never so much as the flagship teams seemed to get into. In fact, since his return to earth, he’d run into less trouble than he had in Pegasus.

But this? This was just his luck.

He sighed and looked down at his watch, then dialed the gate again, hoping it would lock on this time. As per protocol, he’d waited five minutes after the initial failure to connect before trying a second time. If it failed to lock again, they would proceed to the Alpha site. Admittedly, that might have been the better option, with less people between the gateroom and A, the infirmary, and B, the showers, but dammit he was tired and just wanted to be in his own bed for once.

He _wanted_ to be in Atlantis, but that wasn’t an option at this point, so he’d settle for his apartment, or hell, even his base quarters.

The gate connected with a satisfying kwoosh.

“ _Sorry about the delay, SG-18,_ ” Walter’s voice came through once the IDC had been received. “ _You’re clear to come on home_.”

Once in the gateroom of the SGC, Lorne was able to put together the pieces – SG-1 was there, looking sweaty and tired, no doubt having returned early due to things going FUBAR offworld. Carter was nursing a small head wound, Jackson was limping, and Vala was looking even more despondent than she had last time he’d seen her.

Mitchell looked up at him and chuckled. “This is starting to become routine for you, isn’t it?” he asked.

Indeed, with startling regularity, Lorne returned to Earth covered in mud, paint, sap, or any of a number of other grimy substances. Today, it was mostly mud, and though he’d tried to rid himself of some on the way to the gate, it was still everywhere. Streaked across his face, drying in his hair, even squishing between his toes, somehow.

“Maybe you should try to convince Landry to hold off on sending you on any more extended missions for a while,” Sam said.

“Oh, it was fine for the first six days,” Lt. Russell said as they all walked down the hall to the infirmary. “But as a farewell, they decided to honor the _prettiest among us_ with a mud bath.”

Sam cackled at that.

Evan grimaced.

 

 

After a very uncomfortable visit to the infirmary, followed by a too-cold shower, Evan finally got into the elevator and headed up for the lab levels. He poked his head into the botany lab shared by Drs. Parrish and Simmons. “Hey doc,” he said.

“Major,” Parrish said, sitting up a little straighter. “You’re back.”

“Right on time,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders. “I’m pretty beat though, so I’m gonna head home. Just wanted to stop in and see if you wanted to grab a bite to eat?”

“Sure.” Parrish nodded slightly. He quickly shut down his computer and tidied up his workstation, then accompanied Lorne to the elevator. “How was your mission?” he asked.

Evan shrugged and leaned against the wall of the elevator. “Long and tiring. Not so bad though, until the natives dumped buckets of mud on me.”

Evan expected him to laugh, as everyone else had, and when no comment followed, he opened his eyes. David was eyeing him with a tight smile.

“What’s wrong?” Evan asked, straightening a little.

“Nothing,” David said too quickly.

“Bullshit.”

“It’s… you’re tired. You don’t need the extra burden right now.”

“David-” Evan started.

“Later,” he promised. “We shouldn’t talk about it here anyway.”

Evan had learned to trust his judgment, even if this worried him. He waited until they were on the surface, well past the gates into the mountain, before prompting him again.

“Are you okay?” he asked first.

“Yes, of course. It has nothing to do with me.”

“Then what-”

“Let’s get you fed first. And perhaps rested.”

 

 

Dinner – technically it was more of a late lunch, but Evan’s whole internal clock had been knocked off kilter – was a quick, quiet affair. They stopped at the greasiest fast food joint on the way hope, picked up a couple of the juiciest burgers, and ate in silence the rest of the car ride home.

“Why is it that of all the worlds I’ve visited, none have invented the hamburger?” Evan asked. “But at least a dozen of them have had rituals that involved covering me in various viscous fluids?”

“I’m not sure I have the answer to that,” David said. “Perhaps the lack of a decent cow-like creature is a significant factor. And most of the cultures in Pegasus are very under developed, due to the Wraith presence.”

“I suppose. Doesn’t excuse this galaxy though.” Evan yawned as they walked into his apartment. It was small and barren studio; only a bed, desk, and a handful of dishes resided there. All of his belongings had been put into storage when he’d left for Atlantis, and since their return to Earth, he’d only just found a place, hadn’t had much time to take things out of storage yet. “You need to get back?” he asked.

David shook his head. “I’m waiting on a few lab samples, but they won’t be ready until morning, and I can access anything else I need from my laptop, while you sleep.”

Evan hummed happily and fell into the bed, face first, fully clothed. After a moment, he could feel David’s hands removing his shoes.

“You sure you want to sleep in your clothes?”

“S’better than mud,” he said against his pillow.

David kissed his forehead, then settled into the desk with his laptop. Evan started to drift off to the sound of clacking keys.

“’M sorry,” he said, shifting to face the general direction of David, though through hazy eyes, he couldn’t quite see him.

“What ever for?”

“For not having more time,” he said. “Since coming back… I’m off world most of the time, and half the time I’m here, I’m catching up on sleep. I’ve not been a very good boyfriend.”

“Nonsense. You’re the best boyfriend I’ve ever had.”

“That’s a depressing thought,” Evan mumbled.

David got up from his chair and knelt at Evan’s side. “The distance between us in unimportant,” he said, kissing his temple.

 

Through his exhaustion, he almost forgot.

 

His sleep was restless at best. He dreamt of the worst things – of David dying a slow, agonizing death, or Atlantis begin taken from them, of Replicators and Wraith, and explosions that shook the tower.

He awoke sometime after the sun had set, but David was still awake, now sitting in the bed next to him, reading. Evan turned over, glancing at his watch to discover that little more than three hours had passed since they’d left the SGC.

“Okay, tell me what’s on your mind?” he said, sitting up.

“What?” Evan asked.

“You’re tense. You implied that there was something that would _burden_ me. I get that you’re trying to spare me, I love that about you, but you gotta tell me what’s going on, or I’m just gonna assume the worst.”

“Just… wait until morning, okay?”

“Not okay. I’m not going to get a wink of good sleep until you tell me.”

“You think knowing will settle you, but it won’t, it will only trouble you further.”

“And that’s what worries me. So let’s just get it over with.”

David sighed and set down his book. “Several days ago, Atlantis was attacked by Replicators.”

Evan blinked rapidly and sat up. “ _What_?”

“It was not supposed to have been a problem,” David continued. “Something in their coding was supposed to stop them from being able to attack the Ancients, but… they were able to over ride it, is my understanding. General O’Neill and Mr. Woolsey were still in the city when it happened. They are… presumed dead, as are all the Ancients.”

“ _Shit_.”

“As we speak, the Daedalus is en route to destroy the city.”

“ _Shit._ ” He didn’t have any other words to express himself with. Atlantis was… home. He’d been holding out hope that, somehow, they would be able to return. Surely there was some alternative, some way to eliminate the replicators _and_ save the city…

“That is not the worst of it,” David said.

Worse? There was _worse?_ What could possibly be worse than the total destruction of Atlantis?

“Colonel Sheppard, along with Drs. Weir, McKay, and Beckett commandeered the Jumper and left for Pegasus to attempt to retake the city.”

“That’s good news then!” He had seen what they could do under the unlikeliest of circumstances. They performed best with all odds against them.

David shook his head. “General Landry doesn’t seem so sure. He’s locked out their iris codes and destroyed the Midway station. Even if they are successful in beating back the Replicators, and I must stress the _if_ -”

“The Daedalus is still going to destroy the city,” Lorne finished.

 _Shit_ seemed a little redundant at this point, but he said it nonetheless.


End file.
